Katharina V. Koelle, Associate Professor

My research focuses on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. I use a combination of mathematical and statistical approaches to understand the processes driving the disease dynamics of pathogens. My interests include developing models to improve our understanding of how immune escape and other viral phenotypes impact the ecological dynamics of RNA viruses, and, in turn, how these ecological dynamics create selection pressures on viral pathogens. Additional interests include developing within-host models of viral dynamics and evolution and fitting these models to empirical data. Current research projects focus primarily on influenza and dengue.

Research Categories:Theoretical biology; ecology and evolution of infectious diseases

Research Description: My research focuses on the ecology and evolution of infectious diseases. I use a combination of mathematical and statistical approaches to understand the processes driving the disease dynamics of pathogens. My interests include the effect of climate on disease dynamics and the role that immune escape plays in the ecological dynamics of RNA viruses. Current projects focus on influenza, dengue, and norovirus.